Lou Rawls blues

[soulster]

I am a lifelong fan of Lou Rawls and grew up on his music. His soul hits and ballads on Capitol Records were OK, but In the 70s, after his successful first two albums on the Philadelphia International Records label, I think he could have indulged in a jazzy-blues album like he used to do in the 60s. That is the style he succeeded in the most, doing classics like "Muddy Water", "St. James Infirmary", "Tobacco Road", and "Dead-End Street" Instead of continuing with the sappy, and increasingly uninteresting ballads on the PIR label, he could have made a smash going back to his roots. Even his comeback album "All Things In Time" had the excellent "You're the One".

What do you think?

BTW, a great overview of music from both labels is on Legacy's "The Essential Lou Rawls", which also sounds excellent.

[soulster]

No one here cares about Lou Rawls, or his type of music?

[imnokid]

I prefer Lou's Capitol albums to his later material. He got too smooth for my tastes. But I AM a fan.

[paladin]

I think he did well by changing his style of music when he went to Philly, however I love his Capitol output much better. Like a lot of artists maybe Lou made a conscious decision not to go back after his crossover like success.

[robb_k]

4068
I like Rawls' Bluesy style much better than his later style. I also like his work with Sam Cooke's SAR records and his early Gospel work.

[arrr&bee]

Both his styles work for me,be it-tobacco road,love is a hurting thing,you'll never find,early morning love...lou is great in all his formats!